LOS ANGELES,CA - The Los Angeles Police Department said its detectives have apologized to the family of Notorious B.I.G. for failing to warn them that it planned to release his long-sealed autopsy report.

The department said in a statement Saturday that detectives had intended to notify the rapper's family, but the report was released prematurely "due to an administrative error."

The Los Angeles Times reports (http://lat.ms/XDLwGT ) detectives released the 15-year-old report last week in hopes of getting new tips in the unsolved murder. The report revealed that injuries cause by a single bullet killed the rapper during a drive-by shooting in March 1997.

The attorney for the rapper's family complained Friday that he was not given any notice that the report would be released and criticized police for not closing the high-profile case.